The Federal Communications Commission documents referred to above set forth standards for electrical connector receptacles or jacks and mating connector plugs which are to be used in the telecommunications industry to achieve standardization of a wide variety of types of equipment used by the industry and used in conjunction with communications equipment. These documents set forth essential dimensions for the jacks and plugs but they leave room for innovation and improvement in the manufacture and performance of the plugs and jacks. A widely used type of jack or receptacle is described in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 3,850,497 and a commonly used type of connector plug is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,954,320.
Application Ser. No. 940,536 filed Sept. 8, 1978, discloses and claims a connector receptacle which satisfies all of the requirements of the Federal Communications Commission documents and which differs from the receptacle shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,850,497 in that it has one-piece conductors mounted in the housing which have end portions that extend beyond one of the external sidewalls of the housing and which can be inserted into holes in a circuit board and connected to conductors on the circuit board.
Application Ser. No. 967,441 filed Dec. 12, 1978, discloses and claims an improved version of the receptacle shown in the earlier application which permits mounting the receptacle on a circuit board in a manner such that the latching arm of the plug mated with the receptacle is not immediately accessible so that removal of the plug from the receptacle is discouraged. Connector receptacles as disclosed in Applications Ser. Nos. 940,536 and 967,441 are favorably viewed by the industry in that they can be mounted on a circuit board more conveniently than previously available jacks or receptacles and have other advantageous features. The present invention is directed to the achievement of further improvements relating to the elimination of a potential hazard in the receptacle, improved reliability, and improved means for mounting the receptacle in a panel. Specifically, the invention is directed to the achievement of a receptacle which does not present a hazard to an infant who might insert its finger into the plug-receiving opening of the receptacle. The invention further comprises a receptacle housing which will prevent possible shorting of the conductors of the receptacle if an improperly dimensioned plug member is inserted into the receptacle.
A connector receptacle in accordance with the invention comprises a one-piece housing of insulating material having a mating end and a plug-receiving opening extending into the mating end substantially to the rearward end of the housing. The plug-receiving opening has a continuous frame section therearound and a flange extending from this frame section which cooperates with a panel member when the receptacle is mounted on electronic equipment having panels surrounding the circuit boards. The conductors have spring portions which extend from one of the internal sidewalls of the plug-receiving opening diagonally towards the rearward end of this opening. These conductors extend through apertures in the housing which are spaced from the frame at the plug-receiving end. The conductors extend from these apertures across an external sidewall of the housing and then over the rearward end of the housing and beyond the other external sidewall. Barriers are provided in the plug-receiving opening at the rearward end thereof which define stalls that surround the ends of the contact springs and these barriers overcome a hazard of previous receptacles in that they render it impossible for a small child to insert its finger into the plug-receiving opening and injure itself on the ends of the contact springs. The barriers and an integral backwall prevent shorting of adjacent conductors in the event of abusive use or carelessness and misuse.